It's About Time!
by DamnI'mRandom
Summary: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are in their sixth year and are in love. The trouble is, they don't know of the other's feelings. Two of their friends decide to play matchmakers to make these two dense idiots realise their oh-so-obvious feelings for each other. Wolfstar is one of my favourite ships, so I figured, why not? SB/RL, slight slash, established Lily/James. R&R please!


**Disclaimer: **Are the characters mine? I wish. I don't own anything (except for Erika Smith and the idea for the fic), but maybe someday… Ahh, who am I kidding, it's never going to happen.  
The amazing song towards the middle and at the end is 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' by Simon and Garfunkel. I wish that was mine too, but then, I wish for many things (sigh).

**Warning**: If you don't like male/male relationships, go ahead, close this story. But no 'I'm against homosexuality' rants, please.

...

Sirius Black was seated in his favourite armchair beside the fire, pretending to study his sixth-year Charms book. Of course, _pretending _was the key word. He was paying less attention to the words on the page and more to the portrait hole, wishing with all his heart that his golden-haired best friend Remus Lupin would hurry up and come back to the crowded Gryffindor common room. He hadn't turned a page of the book in the past twenty minutes.

'So, waiting for Moony, are we?' an amused voice said. James Potter plopped down on the armchair next to his. He had noticed his fellow Marauder glancing every two minutes at the portrait hole.

'Yes! Why won't he just _come quickly?_' Sirius hissed.

'Well maybe, he's snogging that girlfriend of his, Erika Smith.'

'_Why _do you have to mention her name to me?' Sirius growled. James sniggered. His best friend was in love with Remus, had been for the past two years, and it was _so _entertaining to see him jealous. Remus had no idea about any of this, and the only people who knew were James and Sirius, and now, Lily Evans.

Lily and James had finally got together at the end of their fifth year, after skirting around each other for so long. It was a relief, frankly – the tension between them had been thick enough to cut into slices and serve on a plate. It had been a long, arduous process, but Remus and Sirius' combined matchmaking skills had finally prevailed, and as of now, the two of them were very happy together. They hardly ever fought anymore. The now-couple had noticed how great the boys were together and suspected attraction from one of them towards the other, if not both, and had resolved to repay the favour.

Lily now came over to where the boys were sitting.

'Hi Jamie, Sirius.' She perched herself on the arm of James' chair.

'Lo, Red.' Sirius greeted.

'Lil! You're just in time. Mister Dense here needs a little help in the art of gaining the man of his dreams. Can you point him towards the right direction?'

'Of course. Pay attention to me, my apprentice.'

Sirius sighed. Lily was off again. She was convinced that he would be able to get Remus, who was an iron-rod-straight guy, to like, maybe even fall in love with, him. He didn't have the heart to correct her this time. It would never happen. Sure, he did pretend that he was into girls (he had snogged every Gryffindor girl in his year by the time he was fifteen, and they were never unwilling), but his heart had always belonged to Remus.

'… So I _know _that he likes you back, Sirius, because he told me just a few weeks ago!' Lily finished triumphantly.

Though Sirius didn't know it, she had invented the last part. It was all a matter of boosting her friend's morale because, as she'd noticed, while he was usually his cocky, confident and devil-may-care self around everyone, all this took a reverse turn when it came to his feelings for a certain werewolf.

Hey, everyone was prone to bouts of doubt, especially Sirius, who had grown up with great expectations of family honour and evil thrust upon him at an early age by his uptight, Mudblood-hating, pure-blood loving parents. He'd trashed them all by a) getting sorted into Gryffindor, and b) making friends with a werewolf (Remus) and a Muggle-born (Lily). So he was basically an outcast, a piece of trash, whereas his younger brother Regulus was prided upon as the 'upholder of the family's values', according to his father.

No matter how much he insisted that he didn't care, that his parents could go screw themselves, it was evident to Lily, James and, most importantly, Remus, that the hurt ran deep. It was at night that Sirius was at his most vulnerable, and he and Remus had had many lengthy conversations about their respective 'problems'. No-one else knew about these nightly whisperings, as they were always conducted with the Silencing spell cast about them and the curtains of Remus' four-poster drawn.

They understood each other perfectly – James would've just suggested yet another stupid solution and Peter was just too thick to get it. But in Remus, Sirius had found his soulmate, and vice-versa. The problem was, neither was sure of the other's feelings, hence their seemingly never-ending, elaborate dance around each other.

'Wh-what? Sorry, wasn't paying attention.' Sirius started. He hadn't noticed that her speech had come to an end. 'You were saying – '

'I was _saying_,' Lily said impatiently, with a little more confidence now, 'that Remus likes you too; he told me a few weeks ago. Plus, why _wouldn't_ he like you? You're – let's face it, Sirius – irresistible. Practically _every _girl in this room is attracted to you! You're like this really strong magnet with a really powerful force-field around you which everyone can't help but be pulled towards.'

'Hey!' cried James indignantly.

'Not me, of course. I have my own magnet here.' She corrected hurriedly and ruffled James' hair as he grinned.

Sirius sat up straight.

'You have _got _to be kidding me. Are you saying he's bisexual too? And you didn't mention this to me earlier because?'

'I forgot.' She blushed for the effect, seeming embarrassed.

'What's the point? He's with that Erika girl right now. He couldn't have just broken up with her magically in the space of a day.' Sirius said dejectedly.

'Padfoot, he isn't bisexual. He's just going out with Erika to cover up the fact that he's nuts for you! It's so obvious to everyone except you, because you're too bloody dense to notice it!' James interrupted animatedly.

'Yeah, _right_. As if my dreams are suddenly going to come true. Har-dee-har-har.' Sirius snapped.

'What? I'm telling you the truth. If you don't believe me, just go ask him.'

'Sure I will.' Sarcasm dripped from the raven-haired boy's every word.

'Sirius Orion Black, you will listen to me. You will go to Moony and tell him how you feel about him. What've you got to be afraid of?' Lily ordered, exasperated now.

'Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that he's one of my closest friends and it'll _completely _ruin our friendship if I tell him that I fucking _love him!'_

At that precise moment, as if on cue, in through the portrait hole came a morose-looking Remus Lupin, the very object of Sirius' desires.

'MOONY!' Sirius forgot his dejectedness, jumped up in delight and ran to hug his friend.

'Hi.' Remus mumbled, coming over to them.

'Hey, what's wrong?' Sirius put his arms around him. Remus stood still as a statue, not relaxing into Sirius' warm embrace, then backed away a little when he was released. 'Remy?'

'I'm fine, Sirius.'

'No, you're not.'

'Yes, I am.'

'You're hiding something from me.'

'I'm not.'

'Something wrong has happened, Remus Lupin, and you are going to _tell me what_.'

'I don't _know_ what happened, okay?! Well, not exactly.' He sighed and ran a hand through his honey-coloured locks. 'I'm going to bed. G'night.'

'If that's the way you're going to be, go.'

'Siri…' James warned.

'I'm just telling him to go get some sleep. What's wrong with that?'

As they watched Remus' figure trudge up to the dormitory, Lily said,

'You _so _shouldn't have said that.'

'I know. It sort of… slipped out. Ugh, I just don't know what to do anymore!'

'I do. Leave him be for a while. He'll come round and tell you on his own.' She said firmly. Then she yawned. 'I think I'm going to hit the sack too. Night!'

'Yeah, I'll come up with you.' James said quickly.

'_James Potter!'_

'Pervert.' Sirius muttered as they left.

...

Sirius was the only person left in the dark common room now (obviously – it was the wee hours of the morning). He had relit the fire and was staring deep into it, wondering what in Merlin's name was going on in his life, when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He whipped around.

It was Remus.

'Sirius?'

'Hmm?'

'Can I… er, talk to you about something?'

'Sure.'

He came and sat in the same armchair James had occupied a few hours ago.

Even this late in the night, Remus managed to look amazing. His hair was messed up, as if he'd been tossing and turning all this while, his eyes clouded with exhaustion. His feet were bare and his pyjama bottoms had ridden up a little, so that his ankles were visible. His slender hands were laced together. Every bit of him, to Sirius, screamed, '_Here I am! Kiss me, I look so adorable!'_

'Look, I am _so_ sorry about what happened earlier. I just wasn't in a good mood, so I snapped.'

'You're forgiven. I'm sorry for being such an arrogant prick.'

'That's alright. Everyone was feeling low. Anyway, I wanted to talk about what happened tonight – I mean, yesterday night – no, what am I saying? _Last night_. '

Sirius' gaze softened. _Remus_. Ever the grammar Nazi.

'Go on.'

'I was with… Erika. We were kissing, and instead of her name, I said someone else's. She understood that I wasn't into her and said she didn't mind.'

'So? It's not that bad, is it? At least she didn't scream and shout.'

'But I don't even like girls like I'd thought. I don't need any more abnormalities in my life. Sirius… I'm gay.'

'Oh.' was all Sirius said.

There was silence.

'Hey, Pads?'

'Yeah?'

'It's fine if you… y'know, want to stay away from me and all, just don't tell anyone else, please?'

'That's rubbish! Why would I want to stay away from you? You're my best friend! So, who's the lucky guy?'

Remus looked relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He now blushed.

'Ah, sorry, can't tell you that.'

'Okay then. Yes or no answers only.'

'Sirius, I really don't think I want - '

'Question one - Is he in Slytherin?'

'Oh, joy. Am I not allowed to keep a secret now? And yes, he is.' Remus supplied, rolling his eyes at Sirius' forthrightness.

'WHAT?!'

'Kidding. Of course not, you arse.'

'Phew, you had me worried there for a while.'

'And what if it _was_ a Slytherin?'

'I'd disown you.'

'Would you, now?'

'Don't be silly. I really wouldn't judge too much. That rules out Snivellus and Malfoy, then. Excellent. Is it a Ravenclaw?'

'No.'

'Gryffindor?

'Yeah.'

'Is he in our year?'

'Yes.'

'One of your friends?'

'Padfoot...'

'Just answer the fucking question, please.'

'Fine… yes.'

'Is it that… what's-his-name… ah yeah, Aiden Langford? I've seen you two hanging out quite a few times…'

'Nope, it ain't him.'

'_Wait a minute… _the Marauders… we're your friends too!'

'No shit, Sherlock.'

'Good to know you have such high faith in me, Watson. So, is it one of us, then?'

'Nghhh…'

'Tell.'

'_Alright, _yes, it is.'

'I knew it! I_ hope_ it isn't James. 'Cos then it'd be a nightmare.'

'NO! He's like my brother.'

'Yeah, mine too. I won't even ask about Peter. Or maybe I will. Is it him, Moony?'

'_Merlin_, no.'

'That just leaves… me?'

Remus wouldn't meet his eyes.

'Remy? Lily told me that you told her that you like me. Is it true?'

'I never told her anything like that!' he said, startled out of his temporary silence.

'That liar! Wait 'til I find her tomorrow.'

'But she wasn't wrong.'

Sirius held his breath, waiting for what he would say next.

'I do like you. Hell, I love you. Damn you and your perfect pale skin, and your dark hair, and your amazing voice, and when you step out of the showers with water in your hair, it's all I can do to stop myself from jumping on top of you, and…'

Remus took a deep breath in an attempt to stop his verbal diarrhoea.

'It's perfectly alright if you don't feel the same way, for all I know, you're painfully straight, but I hope this doesn't affect our friendship, and I think that you might even hate me for this, oh dear…' He evidently hadn't been able to still his wayward tongue and was continuing to spout whatever came to his mind. He hung his head.

'Shh, Remus, shh.' Sirius said in what he hoped was a soothing voice, at the same time, hooking a finger under the werewolf's chin, lifting his face up to eye level. 'It's okay. I could never hate you.'

'Really, Siri? You don't hate me?' Remus asked hopefully. It was funny; the guy who was like a mother to the other three Marauders was now in need of mothering.

'Why would I, when I feel the same way?'

With that, he brought Remus' face closer to his and kissed him firmly on the lips, clearly stating his intentions. Remus' eyes widened, then fluttered shut as he kissed Sirius back. He moaned at the contact.

Sirius was in heaven. 'Bellissima.'

'Just _bellissima? _It was so much more than just _bellissima_. You have _no _idea how long I've waited to do that.' Remus elaborated when Sirius pulled away.

Sirius grinned. 'You're right there. And actually, I do know. I've waited long enough. Although, I do imagine I've broken quite a few hearts today.'

The comment caught the other boy off-guard. 'You-you have?'

'Yeah, don't you know how many people are attracted to you? It's quite a big number.'

'It is?'

'Merlin, Moony, you're clueless, aren't you? There's an entire fan club of girls who swoon over you. And there's an even bigger one for me, of course, I mean, that just goes without saying. Those poor fangirls, they'll be _so_ disappointed… but I'm rambling again. The point is, nobody, not even me, can resist those amber eyes. And your hair – _oh gods, _your hair. It just… looks so soft. And your intelligence. And when you eat chocolate secretly because you're obsessed with it and can't survive without a little bit every day, which is _totally_ cute, by the way, and I find out, you look like this little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Well, I could go on and on, but you'd call me a love-struck idiot. I… I love you, Remus.'

'Well, well, well! Sirius Black, playboy extraordinaire, local heartthrob, finally admitting he was in love with someone? Who are you, and what've you done with my friend?' the blonde teased. Sirius found it extremely seductive.

'Playboy no more. Those days are long gone.'

'Prove that you're serious.'

'I hardly need to do that after six years, now do I? I _am _Sirius, not an impostor.'

'What I meant was – _oh gods_. Not that old pun again. Just, how can I be sure that _this_ – ' Remus said, exasperated, gesturing to the minimal distance between them ' - isn't a joke, like everything else is?'

'What makes you think I'm joking? I'm deadly serious about _us._ Oh, I may be sinning if you think about it from my parents' point of view, but who actually cares about them? You're my one and done, Remus, you have been for a really long time.'

'But what about all those girls you…'

'That's the advantage of being bisexual. And while I may have been attracted to them temporarily, my heart always belonged to you. They were just silly flings. Plus, I didn't want to create the image that Sirius Black, the great prankster, was abnormal in any way, for obvious reasons. It would've brought my entire reputation crashing down. With you, it's the real deal. I am _so_ scared of messing this up because I'm so invested in you, in the idea of 'us', that I don't know what I'd do if I lost you in any way. For you, I'd do anything, Remy. _Anything.'_

To prove that he was, indeed, serious, Sirius rested his forehead against his lover's. His sweet breath washed over Remus, making him shudder with delight. Instead of kissing him like he had expected, Sirius started to sing in a gentle but melodious voice.

'_When you're weary, feelin' small,_

_When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all._

_I'm on your side… oh, when times get rough._

_And friends just can't be found,_

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will lay me down.'_

Remus, surprised and touched beyond anything, looked up at him with tears in his eyes. Sirius' eyes were closed, and on his face was an expression of pure bliss. He felt an urge to sing along with the raven- headed boy.

'_When you're down and out, when you're on the streets,_

_And evening falls, so hard, I will comfort you._

_I'll take your part… oh, when darkness comes._

_And pain is all around,_

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will lay me down.'_

'Wow. I see my love of Muggle singers has rubbed off on you, eh? By the way, thank you. That was… simply amazing. You're amazing.' He ensnared Sirius' lips with his own, all exhaustion forgotten. A full-blown snog session had just started, showing no signs of stopping or even slowing down.

...

The sun's first rays hit the peaceful faces of the sleeping boys. No-one was in the common room yet, and no-one had heard what had happened, either (Remus had cast the Muffliato charm around them out of concern for everyone else's welfare).

James had got up early to look for Sirius and Remus, since they hadn't come back to the dormitory at night. He was met with the sight of the two sleeping soundly with the blanket around their waists, Sirius' hand in Remus' hair, and Remus' around the other's shoulder. _They look so adorable! _

He went over to Sirius and shook him gently.

'Whassamatter? Go back to sleep.' Sirius murmured groggily, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

'Oi, Paddy, wake up, mate.'

'Prongs?' He was partially awake now.

'Everyone's going to come downstairs in a bit, so the two of you need to get dressed ASAP.'

'Why am I still in the common room? And why's it so warm… oh.' He looked to his right and saw Remus curled up in the duvet next to him, naked. 'We… um, that is to say, I…'

James smiled fondly. 'I do believe congratulations are in order, it's about bloody _time_ the two of you got together! Just wake this git up and get dressed, we don't want everyone in the house to see you both in full glory.'

He arched an eyebrow as Sirius blushed (most uncharacteristic of him), wrapped a part of the duvet around his waist and proceeded to start the gargantuan task of waking up a very exhausted and very deeply asleep Remus Lupin.

'C'mon, sleepy head, we've got to get some clothes on.' Sirius said, brushing a few golden strands of hair from his boyfriend's forehead and then kissing it.

'Nooooo, I don't wanna go… Sirius, why can't we stay in bed a little looooonger?' Remus whined like a petulant child.

'Love, you're naked. And you're not in bed; you're on the couch in the _common room._ The whole house is going to come here in a few minutes, and unless you _want _them to see your shining treasures, I say we hurry up.'

'Okay, fine. No need to be snappy. Gosh, you're _not _a morning person, I can tell you that much.'

'You realise that after knowing me for six years?'

They rushed up the staircase (or hobbled, owing to the fact that they both had to share the rather big blanket to retain their modesty), cutting the whole 'splendid morning after' scene a bit short. James sighed contentedly.

'Brilliant,' a voice behind him said. James yelped and jumped almost four feet in the air – a new record in itself. The voice chuckled.

'_Lily Evans!_ You scared the crap out of me!'

Lily moved to come next to him. 'Aww, you're cute when you're all flustered. Anyway, all's well that ends well, if I may say so myself.' She quoted, kissing the tip of his nose. He put his arm around her.

'You stole the words right out of my mouth, my darling Lily-Pad.'

'Ahh, that magical man named Shakespeare. But seriously, _Lily-Pad? _Come on, James - you can do way better than _that_. Well, at least they sorted themselves out, finally. One little lie did the trick.'

'Wait, what? You lied to Sirius? What did you lie about?'

'The part when I said that Remus told me he liked Sirius. He never told me any such thing. But it was for the best!'

'Yeah, it was. But if you lied to _Sirius, _he's gonna get his back. And I don't know what he'll do. But it did save us from more love–sick glances.'

'Thanks for the warning; I'm trying to steel myself for _that. _You're an idiot, though! The love-sick glances are going to start now. Get ready for some serious dormitory snogging!'

'Ewww! You _had _to mention that?'

'Yeah, 'cause I love you.'

'Ah well. I love you too, _Red_.'

...

'We don't have to worry about Peter waking up any time soon; that guy sleeps like the dead.' Sirius whispered nevertheless as they both pulled their clothes on after a quick shower (separately, or they'd have woken Peter up, and they didn't want that).

'Yeah, I s'pose. Listen, I never got 'round to asking you this – how long?'

'How long what?'

'You know… have you loved me?'

'Oh, that… the past two years, I guess.'

'_Two freaking years. _And you never thought to tell me until now?'

'I was afraid I'd be rejected.'

'Padfoot, I have always loved you. From the moment we first met, I have loved you. You had nothing to be afraid of.'

'I know that _now, _smart-arse.'

They both went back downstairs hand-in-hand.

Sure enough, the entire Gryffindor population had landed there in the fifteen minutes they'd been gone. If they'd stayed any longer, they would've been subjected to really awkward questions.

Sirius was beaming. He suddenly spotted Lily in front of him and, narrowing his eyes, growled, 'Lily Evans.'

She gulped. 'Er, hi! It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?' she squeaked.

'Just you wait. You thought you could get away with lying to me, couldn't you?'

'Not to mention falsely accusing me of doing something I never did.' Remus added, putting on his best menacing look. It was pretty successful at scaring people – the one time his lycanthropy came in handy.

It was defence time. 'At least I got the two of you together! Think of it this way, Sirius, if I hadn't lied to you, you two would still have been circling around each other in that intricate dance pattern of yours.'

'Defend yourself all you want, I'm not done with you yet, Evans. Revenge is sweet, right, Mr Lupin?' Sirius threatened.

'By all means, Mr Black. Now, why are we down here again?'

'You'll see soon enough, darling.' He said, nuzzling his boyfriend's neck like the dog that he was. 'Thank your lucky stars I've decided not to do anything to you today, Red. Any day from tomorrow, it's payback time.'

Lily quavered. 'Alright, alright. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it.' She tried for a brave, determined expression, but her tone betrayed her. Marauder pranks were legendary, since Sirius was usually the criminal mastermind (along with Remus, even though everyone thought he was the quiet one), and having one played on her by her boyfriend's best friends would be utterly humiliating.

'You won't be able to. We can strike anytime, anywhere, and in any way. Be warned, Red.'

'You can rest assured I am.' She shifted the focus of the conversation from her to them. 'But what have we here? Somebody's over the moon today! Pun not intended.' She added quickly.

'No, it's alright. Why wouldn't I be happy? I'm finally where I want to be and with the person I want to be with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important announcement to make.' Sirius sidled off, dragging Remus along with him.

He stood up on the nearest table and cleared his throat loudly, gaining him every single person's attention (which was exactly what he wanted).

'Yes, thank you everyone. So, I have something to say to you lot.' He hauled Remus up too. 'This wonderful man here-' He slipped an arm around his waist and pecked a stunned Remus once on the lips '- is my boyfriend. I just wanted to clarify that… we're both taken. Sorry, ladies, I know what you're going through over there. That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy your attention while it lasted.' He said as most of the older girls groaned in despair. 'That will be all. You minions can go back to your mundane lives now. Later!' The crowd laughed as he hopped off.

At once, he was assaulted by a swarm of people congratulating them.

'Geez, this is harder than I thought!' Sirius drawled in a bad imitation of an American accent. 'Go away, pesky people. Shoo!'

They backed off immediately as he pulled out his wand. He was one of the most accomplished spell-casters in the school (on account of him being the Chief Prankster along with James).

'You're good at this.' Remus said, patting Sirius' chest lightly.

'Why, thank you.'

'You two going to abandon us now?' a new voice interjected. It was James, holding Lily's hand. He was smirking.

'Ah, sod off, James.' Remus said, grinning.

'Good, I was a little worried you were.'

Just then, Peter Pettigrew came down the steps from the dormitory, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. 'Why's there such a crowd here?' he yawned. 'Did I miss something?'

The four friends looked at each other and simply roared with laughter.

'_Sail on, silver girl, sail on by…_

_Your time has come to shine,_

_All your dreams are on their way._

_See how they shine…_

_Oh, if you need friends,_

_I'm sailing right behind,_

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will ease your mind._

_Like a bridge over troubled water,_

_I will ease your mind…'_

x—x

**THE END**


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